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[subterraniamania]

What is National Arts Month?

Threadless Artist Mathiole once said,

“Art speaks where words are unable to explain.”

Art is indeed used to convey one’s emotions and feelings and can be found everywhere. The National Arts Month (NAM) is one of the sites for art and will be held in February 2020 by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) through Ani ng Sining: Philippine Arts Festival. This celebration first started in 1991 after the former president Corazon Aquino signed the Presidential Proclamation 683. Since then, the NCCA and other agencies have been organizing this event. 

This year, through the Subcommission on the Arts (SCA), the NCCA heads the celebration of the NAM by the theme Ani ng Sining: Philippine Arts Festival. It shows a variation of events from different areas in the country. Specifically, it highlights the seven local boards and arts which include: architecture and allied arts, cinema, dance, dramatic arts, literary arts, music, and visual arts.

Across the country, communities and organizations are urged to coordinate creative activities to celebrate NAM 2020. Events are ideally conducted in public spaces to include external as well as internal stakeholders as participants.

Aside from the different activities it offers, this event could also revive the Philippine pride. This year’s National Arts Month will be able to serve as a venue for all forms of art ranging from digital to traditional art and even including literary pieces. It focuses on indigenous arts, and by inflating them, viewers get to see more of the piece rather than the general idea itself. 

Furthermore, unlike presenting only the well-known art pieces such as the artworks of Fernando Amorsolo, or the writings of Jose Rizal, the National Arts Month will also be a locale wherein even the less recognized works could be presented and appreciated for their value and message. By attempting to avoid curating just the famous works of selected Filipinos, the audience will get more of a distinct Filipino flavor regarding the artistic community and encourages fellow individuals to become less insular.

Today, the featured literary piece presented is the “Subterrania” by Luis Joaquin M. Katigbak.